A viral claim of a 40-hour ICE detention is collapsing under scrutiny, with officials now alleging the entire story was fabricated.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt announced a lawsuit after a weekslong investigation into claims by Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, a U.S. citizen from Skokie, Illinois.
Naqvi had alleged she was detained at O’Hare International Airport, transferred to a facility in Illinois, and later held in Wisconsin before being released without documentation.
Those allegations spread rapidly online, with some commentators likening the claims to the 2019 case involving Jussie Smollett, who was convicted for fabricating a hate crime.
But investigators say the facts tell a very different story.
After reviewing records from multiple agencies, Schmidt said the alleged detention “did not occur,” framing the case as a clear example of misinformation gaining traction without verification.
“There is no record of booking, detention or release involving Ms. Naqvi in Dodge County,” the sheriff’s office said, adding there was no coordination with federal or out-of-state authorities and no evidence she was ever in custody locally.
The Department of Homeland Security had already labeled Naqvi’s claims “false,” undercutting the narrative early on.
HERE ARE THE RECEIPTS:
As we said Sunny Naqvi entered the CBP area at 10:21 am.
Surveillance footage from O’Hare CLEARLY shows her entering secondary inspection at 10:46 a.m., and leaving secondary to the public area at 11:42 a.m.
Her claims of spending 43 hours in DHS custody… https://t.co/GkqWBLS6sn pic.twitter.com/SWOJmMulcy
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 11, 2026
Investigators say documentation—including surveillance footage, text messages, and hotel records—directly contradicts her account.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Naqvi entered secondary inspection at O’Hare around 10:46 a.m. on March 5 and was released less than an hour later, at approximately 11:42 a.m.
There is no record of any detention or transfer after that point.
Instead, records show Naqvi checked into a hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, at 1:17 p.m.—just over an hour after her release—and remained there during the time she later claimed to be in ICE custody.
The lawsuit also names Kevin Morrison, a Cook County commissioner who publicly amplified the allegations and accused authorities of a “cover-up.”
Schmidt disputes those claims, saying the investigation uncovered no evidence to support them and instead revealed a timeline that sharply contradicts the narrative pushed online.
“She checked into the Hampton Inn and Suites in Rosemont, Ill., for the entire duration of this alleged event,” Schmidt said during a press conference, where he presented a hotel bill and text receipts to illustrate Naqvi’s time there.
The folio shows Naqvi checked in at the Hampton Inn — just a 10-minute drive from the airport — at 1:17 p.m. March 5, while text messages with an unidentified witness over the following days show she enjoyed free food, spa services and trips to the gym.
The legal fight now shifts to the courts, where the sheriff’s office is seeking accountability for what it describes as a fully debunked story that gained national attention.
More over at The New York Post:
Woman claimed she was detained by ICE for two days – but was actually at hotel getting spa treatments: lawsuit https://t.co/z4Mc4BMGp6 pic.twitter.com/80zvTJ8nxw
— New York Post (@nypost) April 13, 2026
